"Ah, well, gotta die of somethin' "

My father had this attitude, and I watched him wither from a strong healthy 50 year old man into a frail, emaciated, bloated, cancer victim in less than a year.

Yet my family Just. Don't. Get. It.

One sibling is diabetic, type 1, has been since age 21. He chews tobacco and drinks like a bloody fish.

The other is about 70 pounds overweight, smokes, and lives on lean cuisine. She lived with me, so she doesn't even have the excuse of "well, I didn't know better".

My coworkers are little better-no idea what a carbohydrate is (Is that a vitamin? Yes, really!) and have

chronic migraines
sleep apnea
high cholesterol
high bp
etc, etc, etc.

But the prevailing attitude is you can take good care of yourself and live to 90, and spend the last 10 years in a nursing home, or enjoy life and have a massive coronary at 55. WHY is there this huge disconnect -the thought being healthy and active and elderly is considered no more than the ability to sprout wings and fly south for the winter under your own power.

What the hell is the matter with people!? Don't they understand that taking care of themselves to remain healthy is as much for their loved ones as it is for themselves?

Sadly most people abide by the saying "The point of life is not to arrive at the grave with a well-preserved body, but rather to Slide in Sideways, completely used up, yelling and screaming, what a ride!"

What they don't know is that they wont be able to do this with their chronic arthritis, heart disease, cancer, obesity, diabetes, etc...

Can't we be truly healthy (not what CW says) and still have a kick ass life? I know we can!

Self-realization. I was thinking of the immortal words of Socrates, who said, "... I drank what?"

It reminds me of my gram's- my mom's- my aunt's, for many years- attitude, that "Only God knows when you'll die." To which I always responded, "What of God plans for you to live to 100, but you've wrecked your health by 50? Who wants to live 1/2 their life miserable?" My mom and gram never got it, and they're dead now. My aunt stopped eating processed food and started exercising a few years ago, and she's fighting cancer but she's still here.

It's funny reading all these threads... Aside from older family members--and I completely understand what you mean about the frustration there-- I think *I'm* the unhealthiest person I know (and in the process of becoming healthier, of course!) Maybe it's a function of age or location.

They sound like me with my "activities". I used to be good looking, but between the bike accidents (no helmet) and the miscellaneous running and jumping injuries (Grok was lucky, he lived before pavement) I've become a scarred wreck. Although I have been told the scars enhance my good looks.
I'll probably get another free climbing tomorrow. Wish me skill, I already have luck.

They just don't get it by thinking "Ah, well, gotta die of somethin''. A lot of people think of health as just plainly ''living longer''. In fact, health is alot about quality too, how you live your life. Are you feeling happy ,active, energetic everyday?